A recent correspondent to The Times complained
that the ENO is redundant because it does not restrict itself to operas
by English composers (we’ll leave aside the fact that the company was
founded, not merely to promote operas written in English, but to make
the whole of the operatic repertoire accessible to a wide audience)
and he was particularly exercised by the fact such operas as ‘Der Rosenkavalier’
may also be seen at the Royal Opera House – he fails to mention, of
course, that a good stalls seat at ENO costs £58.50 whereas the equivalent,
supposing Covent Garden were staging the piece, would set you back £160.
Fortunately, such views as his are tangential, and 2000 or so people
were able to enjoy last night’s superb revival of Jonathan Miller’s
production, with a cast which would be hard to better in any opera house,
singing in any language.

To begin with the rose-bearer him-or-herself, the rôle
was originally to have been taken by the ‘mezzo of the moment’, Alice
Coote, but she was replaced by Diana Montague in her first performance
of the part on this stage. With its now-customary lack of knowledge
in such matters, TheEvening Standard informed us three
times last week that Ms Montague is ‘a younger generation’ or ‘new generation’
artist – in fact, she has been a professional singer for over 20 years,
and is someone with whose voice and person anyone involved in the British
opera scene should be very familiar. She has always excelled in such
rôles as the Composer and Marcellina, and her recent Magdalene
in the ROH ‘Meistersinger’ was one of the best assumptions of the part
I have ever heard. Her Octavian did not disappoint; she may be a little
mature now, but she still managed to look boyish and to give expression
to all the character’s changing moods, and her singing was uniformly
beautiful, especially during her final lines in Act I and at the crucial
presentation scene – her nobility of phrasing and dignity of bearing
here reminded me of Janet Baker.

Her Sophie, Susan Gritton, is almost equally familiar to London audiences
(although The Evening Standard appears to think that she, too,
is a debutante) and her sweet tone, unaffected acting and air of vulnerability
are ideal for the part; she negotiated ‘ein Gruss von Himmel’ and ‘Wie
himmlische, nicht irdiche’ with skill, and managed to make Sophie a
believable and sympathetic character.

Susan Gritton Sophie
& Diana Montague Octavian

I found Janice Watson, in her debut as the Marschallin, less sympathetic:
her concept of the rôle seems rather aloof, and for once I was
not touched at what are usually stirring moments, such as when, to the
accompaniment of the throbbing ‘cello notes which so intimately evoke
the beating of the heart, she sings the portentous phrase ‘Euer Liebden
Kavalier vorfahren mit der Rosen zu der Jungfer Braut’. However, she
presents an elegant, thoughtful, credible figure, older than her years,
and she sings her monologues with assurance and a forward, creamy tone
as well as blending finely with Octavian and Sophie in the trio, which
was, appropriately, one of the evening’s highlights.

Janice Watson The Feldmarschallin

Hoffmannsthal wrote that Ochs, ‘be he as he may, is
still a type of nobleman; he and Faninal complement one another, each
need the other, not just in this world but also, so to speak in a metaphysical
sense’ and both he and the composer would surely have taken great delight
in Miller’s presentation of these two characters, the one so aspirational
and his mirror image so self-regarding. John Tomlinson’s Ochs retained
the requisite amount of nobility, although he tended to shout when under
vocal pressure – he was nevertheless the hit of the evening with the
audience. Andrew Shore’s Faninal was a superb assumption, touching in
his excitement at the prospect of Octavian’s arrival and actually succeeding
in moving us as so few Faninals can at ‘Sind halt aso, die jungen Leut'!’
since we’re usually preoccupied with how the Marschallin is going to
take ‘Ja, ja’.

Miller’s production, which sets the opera at around
the time of its premiere, is not one of his most original, but it is
straightforward, does not strive after too many effects and stages the
set pieces with some style. Such little touches as the rain pouring
down the windows of the Marschallin’s boudoir and the enormous painting
which has just been unpacked in Faninal’s salon do work well, but I
was less happy with certain moments where the music seems to say one
thing but the director has gone for something else, such as the breakfast
scene in Act I where the orchestra so delightfully suggests both the
Marschallin and her lover fiddling about with teacups but where in this
instance they were at opposite sides of the stage, and, particularly,
the closing bars where the music could not be more evocative of little
Mohamet brandishing Sophie’s dropped hankie whereas here all we got
was one of Ochs’ ‘children’ snatching a cake.

Vassily Sinaisky was the distinguished conductor, and
he drew some wonderful playing from the orchestra: this was not a schmaltzy,
‘Viennese’ reading of the score, since textures were sinewy rather than
plush and he refused the temptation to overdo the waltzes. I would have
liked a little more sense of emotion at moments such as the Marschallin
telling her hairdresser that he’s made her look old – I felt this was
rather briskly taken, but it was compensated for by the very fine string
playing at the end of the first act and the perfect accompaniment to
Octavian’s and Sophie’s soaring phrases in Act II.

Another great evening at the Coliseum, another ringing
endorsement for this true company which, despite all the prejudices
and snobbery of an unsympathetic establishment, in the face of inadequate
funding and constant threat to its very existence, continues to live
up to its founder’s vision of offering the highest quality performances,
sung in English, nurturing British talent and serving as the place where
everyone can afford to experience opera.